- "Power Man and Iron Fist. That's got a ring to it."
- ―D.W. Griffith
The Main Ingredient is the tenth episode of the second season of the television series Luke Cage.
Synopsis[]
Danny Rand insists on helping Luke hunt for Bushmaster - the Iron Fist way. Mariah sets out to reclaim her empire. Misty pursues a traitor.
Plot[]
The news of Bushmaster escaping the police custody spread around Harlem, as the public starts to lose trust towards Luke Cage. Danny Rand visits Cage at the Pop's Barber Shop and offers to help him in his fight against the Stylers, but Cage declines and says that it was his own fight. Rand, however, reminded him that the Defenders had sworn to protect New York City, and Cage needed any help he could get to protect Harlem.
Mariah Dillard and Shades return to Harlem's Paradise where Benjamin Donovan informs them that the club ownership and the bank accounts were returned to Dillard. Donovan tells them that since Bushmaster forced Piranha Jones to approve the asset transfer, it was deemed illegal, which allowed Donovan to work around and get everything back to Dillard. Dillard, however, refuses to forgive Donovan for siding with Bushmaster when she needed him. She then tells Shades to get the gang in shape to reclaim the streets and kill Bushmaster once and for all.
Cage recalls his battle with the Stylers at the Rand Enterprises facility and Rand notes that unlike Cage, Bushmaster is not bulletproof, which means, he was injured in the explosion. Cage realizes that Tilda Johnson was the one who Bushmaster could have come to for a medical aid, so both of them go to Mother's Touch to investigate, although the store was empty. Reading Johnson's notes about Nightshade, Cage learns that it is extremely toxic and addictive, which leads Rand to believe that Nightshade corrupted Bushmaster's mind and they need to find the source of the plant at the city.
Misty Knight and Priscilla Ridley open an investigation on Nandi Tyler, assuming that she helped Bushmaster find them at the Rand facility. Mark Bailey does not believe that Tyler could do something like that, but Knight and Ridley present him the evidence that she eavesdropped when Knight came to broker a deal for Dillard. Knight and Bailey end up finding the footage of Tyler leaving Harlem's Paradise after talking with Bushmaster, which proved her guilt.
Dillard thinks about her family members who used to lead the Stokes Crime Family and died, trying to rule over Harlem, before Shades gives her back the Stokes' Revolver he had. Dillard then brings a kidnapped Anansi to her office, however, she is interrupted by the arrival of Cage and Rand. Dillard tells them that she has no idea where Johnson is and warns them that she will not stop until Bushmaster is dead. Anansi stays silent until Cage and Rand leave, but tells Dillard that he will not give Bushmaster away no matter what. Upon talking with Dillard, Anansi laughs at himself for taking pity of her and warns her that only death awaits in the end of her path.
Knight, Bailey, and the NYPD officers come to the airport to intercept Tyler when she attempted to fly away from the city. Tyler resists arrest and tries to escape, but Knight subdues her and lets Bailey to handcuff her. Back at the 29th Precinct Police Station, Tyler refuses to give any responsibility and accuses Knight of siding with Dillard after everything she did, while Tyler wanted Bushmaster to punish her. Knight scolds her for not taking accountability for giving them away to Bushmaster and leaves Ridley and Bailey to process her incarceration. As Tyler is taken away, Ridley tells Knight that the 29th precinct still needs a new captain, and she considers Knight to take the spot.
Rand notices the anger inside Cage that seems to cloud his mind and tries to rebalance his chi, but Cage is rather skeptical about it. Rand tells Cage that power comes from stillness and that he needs to tame his anger to clear his mind. Thinking about their mission, Cage and Rand notice that, while Dillard watches the streets from above, Bushmaster is laying low, so they need to find someone who sees everything from that perspective.
Cage and Rand come to see Turk Barrett at his shop, where Cage forces him to tell what he knows about Bushmaster. Barrett informs Cage that the Stylers drove other gangs from the weed business and took over the biggest grow house in the city. Cage guesses that they use it to grow Nightshade, so the two of them break into the grow house and confront the Stylers. When all Stylers were defeated, Cage and Rand find the Nightshade supply and burn the building down, which Rand owns.
Dillard brings Anansi to Gwen's where her men hold everyone on a gunpoint, including Ingrid Mackintosh and Stephanie Miller. Shades says that they could use it to send a message to Bushmaster. However, Dillard, reverting back to her birth surname of Stokes, suddenly orders to kill everyone in the restaurant, leaving Shades shocked. Stokes then lets Anansi watch his wife and friends being murdered, before Stokes burns him alive and finishes him off with a headshot.
Cage and Rand come to Genghis Connie's Too for a dinner, and Rand tells that he saw Cage achieving inner peace while fighting the Stylers. Cage says that his abilities come with expectations, and Rand replies that no matter how it seems, Cage is a hero. Rand then admits that Claire Temple was the one who asked him to check in on Cage and tells him that he does not need to carry his burden alone, otherwise its weight might crush him.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Mike Colter as Luke Cage
- Simone Missick as Misty Knight
- Theo Rossi as Hernan Alvarez/Shades
- Finn Jones as Danny Rand/Iron Fist
- Alfre Woodard as Mariah Stokes Dillard
Guest Stars:
- Rob Morgan as Turk Barrett
- Karen Pittman as Deputy Chief Priscilla Ridley
- Sahr Ngaujah as Paul Mackintosh/Anansi
- Danny Johnson as Benjamin Donovan
- Justin Swain as Detective Mark Bailey
- Antonique Smith as Detective Nandi Tyler
- Jade Wu as Connie Lin
- Jeremiah Richard Craft as D.W. Griffith
- Heather Alicia Simms as Ingrid Mackintosh
- Tarah Rodgers as Stephanie Miller
- Sean Ringgold as Sugar
- Tijuana Ricks as Thembi Wallace
- Camrus Johnson as Torre
- Jamar Greene as Goon #1
- Kurt DeVille as Goon #2
- Truck Hudson as Goon #3
- Justin Ruff as Young Botanist
- Barron B. Bass as Man
- Chaunice Chapman as Woman
- Shemar Yanick Jonas as Young Man
- Heaven Michelle McCoy as Young Girl
- Melissa Rakiro as Stephanie's Sister
- Faith Evans as Herself
- Jadakiss as Himself
- Boma Akpore as Shades Crew (uncredited)
- Korey Prendergast as Shades Crew (uncredited)
- Perry King Jr. as Upscale Club Patron (uncredited)
- John Michael Bradshaw as Pedestrian (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- Pop's Barber Shop
- Harlem's Paradise
- 29th Precinct Police Station
- Mother's Touch
- Turk Barrett's Shop
- Stylers' Grow House
- Gwen's
- Genghis Connie's Too
- Rand Enterprises Research Facility (on-screen)
- Columbia University (mentioned)
- Midland Circle (mentioned)
- Rucker Park (mentioned)
- K'un-Lun (mentioned)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (mentioned)
- Jamaica (mentioned)
- Colorado (mentioned)
- California (mentioned)
- Washington (mentioned)
- Shaolin Monastery (mentioned)
Events[]
- Arrest of Nandi Tyler
- War for Harlem
- Assassination of Tom Ridenhour (mentioned)
- Trial of Shou-Lao (mentioned)
- Ambush at the Wall of the Chaste (mentioned)
- Assassination of Wendell and Heather Rand (mentioned)
- Murder of Cottonmouth (mentioned)
- Assassination of Candace Miller (mentioned)
- Destruction of Midland Circle (mentioned)
- Destruction of Genghis Connie's (mentioned)
Items[]
- Misty Knight's Prosthetic Arm
- Stokes' Revolver
- Bushmaster Rum
- Nightshade
- Hammer Industries Explosive Charge (mentioned)
- Harlem's Hero (mentioned)
- iPod (mentioned)
Concepts[]
Vehicles[]
- Rand Enterprises Private Jet (mentioned)
Creatures[]
Organizations[]
- New York City Police Department
- Stokes Crime Family
- Stylers
- Rand Enterprises
- Donovan and Partners
- WJBP-TV
- Defenders (mentioned)
- Hammer Industries (mentioned)
- Italian Mob (mentioned)
- ESPN (mentioned)
- Internal Affairs (mentioned)
- Uber (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Bushmaster
- Piranha Jones
- Tilda Johnson
- Rafael Scarfe
- Ming
- Mama Mabel
- Cottonmouth
- Buggy Stokes
- Blake Tower
- James Lucas
- Wendell Rand
- Tasha Bowles
- Shaw
- Candace Miller
- Quincy McIver
- Madame Gao
- Lei Kung
- Matt Murdock
- Claire Temple
- Jessica Jones
- State Property
- Bruce Lee
- Larry Merchant
- Marcus Garvey (picture)
- Steve Jobs
- Bob Marley
- Biggie Smalls (picture)
- Game of Thrones
- The Chronic
Trivia[]
- The Main Ingredient is a song from the album The Main Ingredient of the hip-pop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth.
- Faith Evans and Antonique Smith both appear in this episode. Smith portrayed Evans in the 2009 biopic Notorious, which was written by Cheo Hodari Coker.
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber, Pt. II | Wu-Tang Clan |
|
| Misty Chief | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| Assault on Gwen's | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| NYC (feat. Jadakiss) | Faith Evans |
|
